PM Post-Cabinet Press Conference - 20 May 2013

PM Post-Cabinet Press Conference - 20 May
2013

Prime
Minister John Key said the National Government's 5th budget
aimed at continuing to build a competitive economy and
helping families while maintaining fiscal discipline. It
included $900 million in new spending.

Given the global
financial crisis, the Christchurch earthquake, and inherited
debt there had been a remarkable turnaround for the country
from when National were elected to where the country was
now, he said.

New Zealand meat products being blocked for
distribution in China was for “technical” reasons. The
Chinese had been provided with information which they were
working through, with the issue hopefully being resolved
this week, he said.

The PM said
part of the reason for the delay was because the
organization in New Zealand that issued export certificates
had changed its name. There had also been procedural changes
on the Chinese side with a more “robust” approach to
counterfeit meat.

“In the end we will need to go away
and have a look at what went wrong and why it took a little
longer.”

New Zealand exports to 160 countries and from
time to time these issues present themselves, he said.

The
Ministry of Primary industries had advised the Chinese of
the name change, but clearly there had been a problem and
now the main issue was to work through it, he said.

The PM
was asked if he could confirm Meat Industry Association
figures that there had been hundreds of tonnes of meat worth
tens of millions of dollars held up for weeks.

The PM
replied he could not confirm how much meat was being held or
how long it had been blocked.

The PM didn’t think that
the Chinese action was protectionist, or that it would
affect New Zealand’s export relationship with China.

The
PM was asked if parts of the Public Health and Disability
Amendment Bill which passed through parliament under urgency
over the weekend were constitutional. The bill set rules
around paying people to provide care for family members with
disabilities.

The PM said he believed the bill was legal
and constitutionally correct. It was a challenging to know
where to draw the line between family and state
responsibility. Parents had a duty to look after their
children but there was not an expectation that parents
should continue to care for their disabled child once they
reached adulthood. In those situations it was appropriate
for the crown to pay for the parents for caregiving.

The
PM was asked if he had any qualms about pushing the matter
through parliament under urgency as it extinguished peoples
legal right to take court action.

He said that would
always be a matter of debate but that the government had
drawn a line in fairest place they could. Other parties
could campaign on a platform of changing that law.

The PM
was asked why a proposed departure tax of $35 on departing
travellers was dropped.

He said he was initially attracted
to the idea as it would provide more money to promote new
Zealand, but a “less disruptive” way of financing that
marketing had been found.

The PM was asked how he felt
about MP's bringing babies into the house.

He said it as
up to the speaker to decided what was appropriate in the
house, and the party whips to decide which members were
allowed leave to care for their children. The house sitting
schedule had become increasingly family
friendly.

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